Reportage

Hundred years of ancient sa mu roof

Thanh Phuc - Khanh Ly • May 28, 2025 09:57

In the year-round cloudy villages of the highland district of Ky Son, the moss-covered samu wooden roofs still silently embrace the village like silent songs.

Thanh Phuc - Khanh Ly• May 27, 2025

From the winding mountain passes of the great forest, halfway between heaven and earth, Buoc Mu 2 village, Na Ngoi commune appears with its sa mu wooden roofs looming in the morning sun as if preserving the soul of the great forest.

Visit the house of Mr. Gia Xai Phia (60 years old), a prestigious person in the village, with 3 generations living in a house with a shiny brown sa mu roof.

Mr. Phia’s house, which is half a century old, has moss-covered samu wood roofing, a testament to the passage of time. The house was built by him and his wife with nothing, has witnessed the birth of their children, and has undergone many ceremonies, harvest prayers, and new rice ceremonies…

Then his children grew up, got married, and still lived together under the same roof. His grandchildren were born, continuing the generations...

This roof is not only a witness to each life, but also a red thread connecting generations of families.

“Now that the economy is better, we can build a bigger house, and replace the sa mu roof with a cool corrugated iron roof… But I still advise my children to keep the house and the sa mu tile roof. Without the sa mu tile roof, the Mong village would no longer be a Mong village,” said Mr. Phia.

Going deep into the village inside Na Ngoi commune, we also came across ancient houses roofed with sa mu wood of the Mong people on the mountainside.

Mr. Xong Ba Re in Buoc Mu village - the owner of a house with ancient Mong architecture (ground floor, low roof, 2 doors, including 1 main door and 1 side door) that is more than a century old shared: "Sa mu is a rare type of wood, the wood has oil in it that is water-resistant and termite-resistant, so since ancient times, Mong people have used sa mu boards to roof their houses.

This is a type of oil wood, fragrant, the more exposed to rain and sun, the more durable and ancient it becomes. In particular, houses roofed with sa mu wood are windproof, warm in winter, cool in summer and not moldy.

Pointing to the shiny brown samu roof of his house, Mr. Re continued: My parents' house was roofed with samu wood more than 100 years ago, and to this day, the samu wood roof is almost intact.

Inside the house, from the earthen stove, the wooden cupboard containing bowls, chopsticks, pots and pans, to the samu wood cabinet that is more than half a century old, are still intact.

Building a house is a major event in the life of every Mong family. The process requires meticulousness, meticulousness and spirituality. In the past, before the forest was banned, homeowners had to go to old forests, where ancient sa mu trees stood tall among the clouds.

After the ritual of praying to the forest god for permission, large and strong trees are carefully selected and cut down in the traditional way, avoiding causing too much pain to the "tree spirit".

The trunk of the sa mu tree is sawed entirely by hand: each plank is 4-5cm thick, about 30-40cm wide, and up to 3-4m long. The Mong people use machetes, wooden turtles, axes... rudimentary but precise tools.

Each panel is then beveled, sanded flat, and carefully marked for roofing.

When roofing, the workers lay the planks tightly together like fish scales, creating a perfect natural waterproofing system. The house frame is also built from large timbers, joined together with wooden joints and rattan, using almost no iron nails.

Each house is like a living work of art, preserving the technical secrets, patience and soul of the craftsman through every stroke and carving.

Tay Son commune is a locality that still preserves many traditional ancient houses of the Mong people in Ky Son district. For the Party Committee, government and people here, preserving the sa mu roof houses is not only to preserve the national cultural identity but also a direction for developing eco-tourism and community tourism.

Coming to Tay Son commune this season, everyone cannot help but feel moved by the peaceful, attractive scenery of traditional sa mu roofs hidden under peach, plum and mac cop trees laden with fruit.

Huoi Giang 1 Village is one of the villages in Tay Son Commune that still preserves a complex of ancient sa mu roof houses. Some of the houses are centuries old.

Following the Tay Son commune cadres, we went to the house of Mr. Lau Y Ia (96 years old) in Huoi Giang 1 village.

In the house stained by time, the sa mu roof is covered with moss, many panels have been eroded by rain and sun, some panels are cracked, many gaps are exposed, letting the early summer sun shine in. At 96 years old, Mr. Ia is still lucid, although he does not know Kinh, he is very warm and friendly, greeting guests in Mong.

Through the interpretation of a Tay Son commune official, Ms. Lau Y Ia said: “This house was built by my father and grandfather. When I got married at the age of 17, I lived under this sa mu wood roof.

The age of the house must be several decades older than us. Until now, the sa mu roof of the house still seems intact, only a few worn and damaged panels need to be replaced"…

We encountered those dark brown sa mu wood roofs stained by the sun and wind on the working roads in the border villages of Nghe An.

From Tay Son through Na Ngoi, Huoi Tu, Muong Long… hidden under the mountains, full of pristine beauty. Those roofs were built when our ancestors chose the land to establish a village and a Muong. Those houses are not just simple wooden roofs to protect from rain and sun, but also the identity, the origin, the tradition of an entire community.

Despite their durability, the ancient samu wood roofs are gradually disappearing. Partly because time has left its mark too deeply, many wooden roofs are cracked and rotten and cannot withstand any longer.

In another part, because the exploitation of sa mu wood in the primary forest has been strictly banned, the Mong people in Tay Son commune strictly follow the general policy of the Party and State, no longer cutting sa mu wood for house building, but all join hands to plant and protect the forest.

Modern life has also crept into every house, village, and hamlet. Cold-rolled corrugated iron sheets, baked tile roofs, and closed-cell plastic roofs, convenient and low-cost, are gradually replacing samu wood panels.

Walking around the villages in Ky Son district, it is easy to see that many roofs now have a mixture of green and red of new corrugated iron mixed with the dark brown of the old sa mu roof. In a house that is more than half a century old, Mr. Vu Ba Phu in Huoi Giang 1 village, Tay Son commune, pointed to the roof and said: "Many of the wooden panels are too old and cracked. There is no sa mu to replace them, so the family has to use clear plastic sheets under the old roof to avoid rainwater."

To preserve this unique architectural feature, many households such as Mr. Gia Xai Phia in Buoc Mu 2 village, Na Ngoi commune have carefully stored each remaining sa mu plank in case of repair; Mr. Xong Nhia Di in Buoc Mu village, Na Ngoi commune has traveled all over the village to find each old plank to replace...

To preserve the precious gift that their ancestors left for future generations, some households like Mr. Vu Lau Phong in Huoi Giang 1 village bought transparent plastic roofing sheets to put under the sa mu roofing sheets, both to prevent rain leaks and to preserve the ancient features of the house.

Some houses used to be simple, with pillars buried in the ground, but now they have become houses made of concrete, with only the thatched roofs remaining the same as hundreds of years ago… It is a small effort but imbued with pride and appreciation for the heritage of our ancestors.

Not only stopping at preserving artifacts, many Mong families in Ky Son district also proactively planted new sa mu forests. These are the old men Xai Phia, Old men Tong Thu (Na Ngoi commune), Mr. Vu Cha Chong (Huoi Tu commune) ... diligently and quietly built sa mu forests.

For them, each planted sa mu tree not only contributes to preserving the forest and protecting the environment, but is also a gift for future generations - a valuable source of materials for roofing houses and preserving traditional architecture.

According to statistics, the entire Ky Son district has less than 100 houses in 23 villages of 6 communes that are still preserving houses made from sa mu wood, some houses are nearly 300 years old.

Among them, many ancient houses are concentrated in Tay Son commune. Mr. Vu Ba Re - Vice Chairman of Tay Son Commune People's Committee said that in Tay Son commune, about 85% of traditional houses of Mong people remain. Of which, only about 20 houses with sa mu wood roofs are still intact. Recently, the locality has been very interested in encouraging people to preserve ancient houses, both to serve community tourism activities, experiential tourism, and to preserve the unique cultural identity of Mong people.

"We apply policies and support mechanisms under the Project "Improving knowledge and capacity on adaptation to natural disasters in the context of climate change for ethnic minorities in Ky Son district, Nghe An province", chaired by the District Farmers' Association to attach signs to 25 houses in Huoi Giang 1, 2, 3 villages, Tay Son commune, to promote family responsibility in preserving ancient houses or use resources from the house repair program for the poor to support plastic lining under the sa mu roof to prevent leaks", said Mr. Vu Ba Re.

Understanding the great value of sa mu roofs, Ky Son district has been implementing many solutions to preserve this unique architectural feature. The remaining houses are numbered and inventoried to propose conservation plans to specialized agencies.

Mr. Nguyen Viet Hung - Chairman of the People's Committee of Ky Son district said that the intact sa mu roofs are not only cultural treasures but also unique "tourism resources" of Ky Son district. For tourists, seeing with their own eyes and touching the boards that have been soaked with many seasons of rain, sun, wind and dew is a rare experience. In addition, the sa mu house architecture with its excellent adaptation to the mountainous climate becomes a vivid lesson about the harmony between humans and nature.

Mr. Nguyen Viet Hung also emphasized: "If preserved and exploited properly, villages that still retain sa mu roofs can become attractive destinations for community tourism, experiential tourism, and cultural tourism, helping people to both preserve their identity and develop a sustainable economy. We are making recommendations to departments and branches to find solutions to support and restore ancient sa mu roofs. If done well, this will be a priceless asset for community tourism development."

It can be said that, in the vortex of time and change, the Mong people in Ky Son district are persistently holding on to the ancient roofs as if holding on to their memories, holding on to the soul of the village.